Harry Potter and the Pureblood's Revenge
by The Celestial
Summary: Harry is entering his final year at Hogwarts. However, the future of the school is uncertain now that the Headmaster has been murdered. Read about the final showdown which will be the end of all evil... or the end of all that's good...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the marvellous world of Harry Potter. Yet.**

**Author: Welcome to the very first segment of Harry Potter and the Pureblood's Revenge! I do hope you will enjoy it. I promise it will have evrything. Money, greed, corruption, pride, sin and lust. Especially lust. Kidding.**

**Harry: Oh Circe, what is this psychopath going to do to me in this horrible manipulation of JKR's wondrous works?**

**Author: Oh, you'll see... the first item on my list is to make you imagine what the world would be like without the word 'the'.**

**Harry: (thinks for a moment) Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!**

Chapter 1 – Lunch with the Dursleys

An unusual sort of lad was sitting in his bedroom at Number 4, Privet Drive. His name was Harry Potter and he was writing his daily letters to his friends. His owl Hedwig was hooting impatiently in her cage.

_Just give me a bloody moment, will you?_ Harry thought to himself as he kept scratching his quill on the parchment. As if she'd heard him, Hedwig gave Harry the dirtiest look one would suppose an owl could have done. Harry smiled apologetically at Hedwig, giving her a bit of apple as a treat. Somewhat mollified, Hedwig put her head under her wing and dozed off in her cage. Harry read over his note.

_Dear Ron and Hermione,_

_Everything is okay with the Muggles for once, but it is lonesome here. The Dursleys still aren't exactly rolling out the welcome wagon, but that's to be expected from them. Wait till you hear this though. They invited me to have lunch with them in about half an hour! Do you know when I will be coming to join you? I'm bored stiff here! Please give Lupin, Moody, Tonks, the Weasleys and everyone else my regards. Let them know that the Muggles aren't mistreating me. Hurry up and write back!_

_Harry_

True to Lupin and the rest of the Order's demands when his fifth year ended, the Dursleys had still not harassed or mistreated Harry. Of course, when it came to his relatives Harry learned to take what he could get. He'd expected that they were too terrified at the idea of a group of wizards showing up at their doorstep to cause Harry trouble. Whatever it was, Harry was grateful.

The Dursleys hated anything to do with Harry's magical world. Even though his "family" wasn't being actively aggressive towards him, they still had a way of treating Harry like some disgusting rodent. However, Harry didn't care anymore. After this summer, he'd ensure that he'd never see the Dursleys again.

He had done a lot of assessing of his life in the two weeks since he'd left Hogwarts for the summer. Of course, his main thoughts were still with Sirius Black, his deceased godfather. Sirius had spent twelve years in Azkaban Prison because he was framed for the murder of a dozen Muggles and one wizard. Three years ago, Sirius had made an unbelievable escape from the clutches of Azkaban's horrid guards, the Dementors.

All during that school year, Harry believed that Sirius was Voldemort's greatest supporter. Supposedly, he had escaped prison to murder Harry Potter and restore power to the Dark Lord. A series of events that year led him to discover that Sirius; a mass murderer was responsible for the death of his parents! Even more distressing however, was that Sirius Black was his parent's most trusted friend and betrayed them to Voldemort!

Harry also discovered that Remus Lupin, his Defence against the Dark Arts teacher at the time, was also a friend of Lily and James Potter until their death when Harry was only a year old. At the end of Harry's third year, he discovered that Sirius was innocent. It turned out that it was Peter Pettigrew, another friend of his parents, who betrayed them.

Harry had come to love Sirius and look up to him as the only father figure he'd ever known. It didn't last long, because Sirius was killed last year when Voldemort lured Harry and his friends into the Ministry of Magic.

Voldemort's plan to use Harry for retrieving the remaining half of a prophecy made sixteen years ago was thwarted when the globe holding the record was smashed. Harry however knew the contents of the prophecy since the Headmaster had a way of literally showing it to him. Harry shivered as he found himself once again looking into Dumbledore's Pensieve.

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."_

Harry was shocked when he heard this prophecy. He still was having a difficult time believing he had to murder someone in order to live his life in peace. But Dumbledore had made the explanation of this perfectly clear during their private lessons last year.

Professor Dumbledore... Harry could hardly stand to think of him and his horrible death so fresh in his mind. It was too painful. _One person after another... who's next, Riddle?_ Harry thought to himself and then Harry lost track of his thoughts.

Coming out of his reverie, Harry prodded Hedwig to wake her up and sent her off with his letter to Ron and Hermione. She hooted at him reassuringly as she spead her wings and took off into the bright sunlight. It was odd that Harry's mind seemed to go blank whenever he thought of Dumbledore. It happened again. Harry zoned out and then came back to himself abruptly. Glancing at his watch, Harry saw that it was noon.

He trudged his way down the stairs to join the Dursleys for lunch. Aunt Petunia had served chicken noodle soup and a large tray of raw vegetables with crackers and cheese. Harry stared up at Petunia, shocked because of this unusually good lunch. He then noticed ham sandwiches anda pitcher of iced tea. _What gives?_ he thought and gazed suspiciously at his relatives.

_Dudley is still on his diet, isn't he?_ Harry thought. He fixed his gaze on Dudley and realised that he hadn't been paying much attention to his relatives since he'd returned from Hogwarts. Dudley had lost at least thirty pounds since last year. Harry couldn't help thinking that his cousin was almost to the point where he didn't look like a pig.

Harry also couldn't help but notice that the Dursleys were looking at him as if they were anxious, or perhaps waiting for something. Uncle Vernon was the first one to crack.

"Well?" Uncle Vernon had asked, as if the strain was too much to bear.

"Well what?" Harry answered. He was genuinely confused at the way they were acting.

"Aren't you going to tell us about Lord Voldythingey?" Uncle Vernon demanded.

"You want to know about Lord Voldemort?" Harry asked, stunned.

He was blown away by the fact that his unendingly Muggle relatives were seriously asking him about the wizarding world. Vernon nodded and looked particularly smug that his nephew seemed to have difficulty grasping this.

"Err, what do you want to know?" Harry asked.

Normally he could have talked volumes about his arch-enemy but for the moment his mind had gone uncomfortably blank.

"Petunia and I have been discussing this thing while you were gone and we decided that we want to know everything about Voldemort. If we are going to be put in danger because of you, we want to know why," Vernon snarled.

It was clear that listening to Harry talk about the wizard world was a very bitter pill for him to swallow. Harry nodded and noted with satisfaction the disgruntled expression on his uncle's face. Aunt Petunia looked resigned and Dudley looked frightened.

"As you already know," Harry began, "Voldemort was the one who murdered my parents. Before this, Voldemort was gaining power every day using his Death Eaters to manipulate other wizards. To do this, he used three Unforgivable Curses."

"The first one is called the Imperius curse. Basically, you use this curse to control others and make them do things they would normally never do. The second is called the Cruciatus curse. He uses this curse to torture people. Sometimes he uses this curse to get information from people and sometimes he and his Death Eaters just do it for fun. A friend of mine from school named Neville has parents who were tortured into madness because of this curse." Harry stopped here for a minute to gain his composure.

"The last is the worst. It's called the Avada Kedavra curse and it kills anyone it strikes. That's how my parents died. With this curse, all you can do is hear the incantation and then see a rush of green light right before you die. There is no stopping it, and it happens so fast that you don't even know what hit you. And you're dead." Harry added for emphasis and then paused to wonder how his relatives would react to this information.

Harry hoped that they would take him seriously for once. He saw this as an opportunity to reach his aunt and uncle and finally make them realise how bad his situation was. They'd never actually listened to him before.

Aunt Petunia looked horrified. Uncle Vernon looked shocked and Dudley actually stopped eating for a moment and looked up at Harry.

"Dudley, do you remember last year right before the Dementors attacked us in the alleyway?" Harry asked looking at his cousin.

Dudley nodded in response.

"We were arguing and you mentioned someone named Cedric and that I was having nightmares." Harry continued.

"Yes, of course I remember that. How could I forget?" Dudley whined, "You woke me up almost every night with your moaning and crying!"

"I saw him murdered by the Avada Kedavra curse!" Harry intercepted hotly as he was starting to lose patience.

Dudley looked down at the ground as Harry explained the Triwizard tournament and the events of the graveyard that June. After he was finished, Harry swore that he detected a flicker of pity on Aunt Petunia's face. He knew that pity from her was what he needed, but he was annoyed nonetheless. He didn't want her to feel sorry for him. What he wanted was to finally have peace somewhere. He was tired of always fighting with his relatives.

The expression on Uncle Vernon's face was unreadable. Harry, however, took it as a good sign that his uncle's face wasn't contorted with annoyance or rage as he was used to. Harry was encouraged to continue explaining Voldemort's story to the Dursleys.

" … the reason he keeps coming after me is because he wants to become immortal and invincible. He needed to hear the prophecy to find out if he could kill me or not. I'm lucky he didn't hear it otherwise we'd probably have Voldemort and his followers on the front steps right now," Harry concluded after he told them about the Ministry of Magic and about Professor Trelawney's prophecy.

"I say, that was the weirdest bloody story I have ever heard. How do we know that's not a load of bollocks?" Uncle Vernon scowled maliciously.

"Would you like me to get my friends you met at the train station to come and explain it all to you again?" Harry retorted with a cold grin playing on his features. "Or would you like me to introduce you to some Death Eaters? I am sure they'd be more than happy to enlighten you. They love Muggle hunting."

"Don't talk to me in that tone, boy!" Vernon hissed.

Harry stood up quickly and glared at the Dursleys.

"If you want me to show respect, then learn to show some yourself!" Harry roared, "I have had enough of people calling me a liar over the last two years if you don't mind! I am not a child anymore, _Vernon_! You are going to have to trust that I am telling you the truth for once. Whether you like it or not, we are family and I am tired of fighting with you!"

Uncle Vernon stared at Harry as if he'd never seen him before.

For once, Vernon Dursley was completely speechless. He continued to stare at Harry and did something remarkable. He nodded as if he agreed. Harry was shocked for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

"This is why we hate the magical world. Look how much danger there is! Putting yourself in danger for a bunch of worthless… nobodies," Vernon whined, " and what do you get in return? Tortured, maimed and KILLED, that's what!"

"The Wizarding world is not all bad, Uncle Vernon," Harry protested, "We have spells to cure the sick, potions that can help plants grow and incantations that can make dinner for a family that's starving."

"I still think the whole thing is… unnatural if you ask me," Vernon grumbled.

Harry noticed that a lot of the conviction went out of his uncle's words. Harry couldn't help but grin. He then proceeded to tell the Dursleys about the wizarding currency system and their post system. In spite of themselves, they looked a little impressed.

"Those nasty owls can find anyone you need to send a letter to… anywhere?" Aunt Petunia asked. She looked the most impressed.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry responded, "If the person is alive the owl will find them."

Petunia Dursley looked astonished and even more impressed. Her expression suddenly turned thoughtful.

"What if the person is dead?" Petunia blurted out.

Harry looked at her curiously. Then it dawned on him.

"I'm afraid not, Aunt Petunia. You can't contact my mum from the dead, or I'd have done it ages ago," Harry sighed at Petunia's disappointed face.

"Why would you want to talk to my mum anyways? You hated her," Harry spoke again after a moment of silence.

"It might seem that way to_ you_, but that doesn't mean Ihaven't anything to say to my sister," Petunia glared and looked rather affronted.

"I'd like to hear more about those Dementoids," Dudley suddenly requested.

"They are one of the most disgusting and foul things to walk the earth. They feed off of good emotions and leave you with nothing but the most horrible memories of your life. They used to guard Azkaban Prison and feed off the prisoners but they escaped last year. Now they have joined Voldemort. If they want to destroy a person, they perform the Dementor's Kiss. If you remember," Harry looked at Aunt Petunia, "They use this weapon to suck out a person's soul and make them nothing but a hollow shell with no memory and no emotions."

"Why did they leave Azkaban? Didn't they have enough to feed on there?" Petunia looked terrified as she asked.

"They did, but they are greedy. As my Headmaster at school told me, they have more scope for their desires when they aren't being controlled by our Ministry. At Azkaban, the Dementors could only perform the Kiss when they were told to. They had to control themselves. Look at it this way – if you were constantly hungry, would you want someone controlling when you eat and how much you eat?" Harry paused to shake the chill that settled in his bones whenever he thought of the Dementors.

"What did you see when the Dementors attacked you last year, Dudley?" Harry asked abruptly.

He had to stifle a cold grin when he thought of how Petunia forced Dudley to go on his diet. The fact that there was a similarity between his cousin and a Dementor amused Harry greatly.

Dudley started to tremble and shake violently. Aunt Petunia looked upset and Uncle Vernon looked shocked.

"Bloody hell! What's happening to my son!" Vernon bellowed.

"Idonwanttotalkaboutit…" Dudley mumbled.

Dudley appeared to calm down after a moment. He stopped shaking, but looked a little pale.

"Popkin… what happened?" Petunia asked.

She looked on the verge of tears.

"Nothing, Mum," Dudley said, in his best effort to sound normal, "I am going to go play Alien Invasion on my computer."

He then walked out of the kitchen to his room. Even Harry was a little worried. After all, Dudley never moved voluntarily.

"Well, I guess that's done," Uncle Vernon said, "Lunch is over."

"Alright, Uncle Vernon," Harry said as he started to clear his dishes away.

Aunt Petunia drifted off to the stairs so she could escape to the master bedroom. She looked very deep in thought.

"This was a good talk," Vernon said as he gazed intently at Harry, "Do we have any sort of protection against this lunatic?"

"Well, you are about as protected as you can be here. Professor Dumbledore put several protective spells over your house to protect me before he died," Harry responded as he filled the sink with water for the dishes.

"Good then. I'm sorry about your parents." Uncle Vernon said abruptly and awkwardly, "Even if they were... you know... they still didn't deserve that, I reckon."

Harry was taken aback and murmured a thank you. Vernon handed Harry a dirty plate and then left the house.

Once Harry was finished doing the dishes, he went up to his bedroom to do some reading and wait for a response from Ron and Hermione. Soon after he began Quidditch Through the Ages, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

**Author: Well folks, I hope you enjoyed this little intro. Stay tuned for Chapter 2 - Dudley's Worst Memory!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Piss off…I still don't own Harry Potter.**

**Author: I told you I would be back with the next chapter. **

**Dudley: Do you think you can garner up some sympathy for me here? Surely I can't be a total arse. I mean, come on!**

**Author: We'll see. **

**Dudley: What do you mean "We'll see," you non-committal slag!**

**Author: smites Dudley Thanks to my lovely roomies and their awesome Betaness. I love you both! Hugs 'n' fuzzlez! I also want to thank CaptainCheese for giving me the kick in the are I needed to finish this chapter, lol. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2 – Dudley's Worst Memory

Harry awoke with a start. He opened his eyes to see that Hedwig had just landed on his chest with a decent sized package for him. As he opened it a box of cookies from Mrs. Weasley came tumbling out, along with a couple of letters.

Mentally blessing Mrs. Weasley, Harry munched on a cookie as he read his first letter.

_Harry,_

_Glad to hear you're not doing too badly at the Dursleys. What did they want when they invited you to lunch? Hermione and I wish you were here. Fleur and Bill are getting married in two weeks. Knowing Fleur, I'm sure it will be a huge event. Great news though! Mum says you can come to the Burrow whenever you're ready. I know you have to stay at the Dursleys because of your protection thing, but maybe next weekend? Write me back and let me know! _

_Ron_

Harry grinned at his friend's messy scrawl. Picking up the next letter, Harry started to read again after popping another cookie into his mouth.

_Harry,_

_If I have to hear another peep out of Phlegm about 'ze beeg day' I am going to break her kneecaps! How have you been holding up with everything that's happened? There's been no word of Snape or Malfoy at all. The Order just isn't the same without Dumbledore. They are all confused. Fred, George and I have been eavesdropping and from what we've heard, Inferi attacks are becoming more and more common. Plus there's been a lot of Giant activity as well. On the plus side, the Dementors have been oddly quiet. I'm sure you noticed that the fog has disappeared. There's something unsettling about it though. Anyways, I miss you. I am trying to be supportive of what you're going through and of what you need to do, but I miss having you as my boyfriend. I can't wait to see you again. Do you reckon that they will open Hogwarts this year?_

_Love, _

_Ginny_

Harry sighed as he put this letter down. He missed Ginny too, but he was afraid for her safety. Voldemort would stop at nothing to make his life hell and Harry knew it. Once again, because of Harry and the Order of the Phoenix, Voldemort's plan had failed. However, the Dark Lord had gotten his way. Albus Dumbledore was dead and he was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared.

Harry couldn't help obsessing over what his arch-enemy had planned this year and picked up his letter from Hermione.

_Dear Harry,_

_How are you holding up over there? I miss you! I read this book on death and how to cope with it. It was very helpful to me and I think you should read it when you arrive at the Burrow. You were closer to Dumbledore than both Ron and I, so you must be a basket case even if you won't admit it. Fleur is driving everyone nuts with her wedding planning. You'd swear it was the event of the century. At least she isn't as bad as she was last summer. Bill seems to be getting on quite well with his injuries, even if he does have a particular taste for rare meat during the full moon. And he always complains about how often he has to shave, the poor bloke. At least he has Lupin to talk to. We have something special planned for your birthday so you'd better be here for that!_

_Love,_

_Hermione_

Harry smiled to himself. Hermione always had a book for an answer. He still hadn't come to a decision regarding whether he wanted to return to Hogwarts or not. Harry decided that he would go to the Burrow this coming Sunday. He would stay until the first of August then he would go to Godric's Hollow, where his parents were murdered. Harry decided to go by himself and he knew he'd miss his friends when he was gone.

Forty-five minutes later, Harry had finished writing all of his responses to his letters. He left his room for a moment to use the loo when he thought he heard someone sobbing. It stopped suddenly and Harry just shrugged it off and proceeded with his purpose. After he came out, Harry walked back to his room. He was just about to his door and then he heard the sobbing again. _What in the name of Merlin?_ Harry thought to himself.

He followed the sound to the door next to his. _Dudley?_ Harry wondered. What could his spoiled, arrogant bully of a cousin be crying for? Did Petunia say he had to diet for an extra week or something?

Harry thought about just walking away and forgetting his cousin's outburst. It would serve them right. What would the Dursleys do if they saw Harry crying? At best, they'd ignore him and walk away. At worst? They'd have hit him and locked him in his cupboard. _I guess that's the difference between us. I'm not like that, _Harry thought bitterly.

He reluctantly opened Dudley's door. Harry was amazed at how many possessions his cousin had. He saw at least three computers, two televisions and countless unnameable pieces of his cousin's things littered the floor.

"Dudley, are you alright?" Harry asked tentatively, looking at his cousin who was curled up like a ball on his king sized bed.

"H-Harry, what are you doing in my room?" Dudley choked out between sobs. "Get out!"

"I heard you crying and I was wondering if I could help you," Harry said as he felt his temper start to boil again.

Dudley looked at Harry for a moment as if to consider his request. A mixture of emotions played on his cousin's podgy face. Anxiety, embarrassment, sadness and some anger were all there. Uncertainty was the winning expression, however. After all, this was Harry Potter and he was the relative Dudley always hated. Why should Dudley tell him anything?

"Does this have anything to do with the Dementors we talked about earlier?" Harry asked, knowing he had to tread carefully on this subject.

After all, Harry knew that at any moment Dudley could yell for his parents and Harry would never hear the end of it. He'd be punished for sure. Harry didn't care anymore though. After all, he could leave at any time and never return. He would be of age in three weeks time.

"I don't want to talk about it, Harry," Dudley said in a tone as if he was talking to a five year old.

The effect of his chubby cousin talking like this with tears rolling down his red cheeks was hilarious. However, Harry didn't laugh and decided to make one more try for it.

"I know it's hard, but I know what it's like, you know. I know how it feels to have your worst memories flung back at you like it's nothing," Harry cajoled, after all, he was actually quite curious to know what his spoiled cousin's worst memory was.

"R-really?" Dudley looked almost hopeful and this made Harry consider the fact that even his cousin might not have anyone to really talk to.

After all, he had Ron and Hermione. Did Dudley have any real friends? The people in Dudley's gang were morons and of course his cousin would have to act tough in front of them. Somehow, Harry doubted that Dudley could talk to Piers Polkiss about feelings. Harry then realised that Dudley might not be as well-off as he thought.

"Yes, really," Harry confided.

"What do you see when those Dementoids come?" Dudley asked warily.

"I see my parents being murdered, as well as Cedric, my Godfather and my Headmaster. He was killed about 3 weeks ago," Harry said matter-of-factly.

Dudley looked shocked.

"They were all killed by Voldemort?" Dudley breathed and looked as close to sympathetic as Harry had ever seen him look.

"Yes, Dudley," Harry explained as Dudley's face fell.

"What an evil bastard…" Dudley growled.

Harry almost smiled. Dudley suddenly looked resigned and sat up straight. Harry was relieved to see that Dudley had stopped crying.

"Sit down if you want to Harry," Dudley invited.

Harry sat down on Dudley's computer chair and remarked on how comfortable it was. Dudley smiled and then took a deep breath.

"Alright, Harry. I will tell you what I saw. And you need to promise me that you won't tell anyone what I tell you tonight," Dudley said in a more coherent, intelligent voice than Harry had ever heard him use.

If fact, there was an unfamiliar sharp edge to Dudley's voice that almost frightened Harry. Who was this boy and what had he done with his stupid cousin?

"Of course. The secret's safe with me," Harry promised.

"Alright then," Dudley nodded and began his story, "You don't know this, but I don't go to Smeltings anymore…"

----------

Afifteen year old Dudley Dursley walked up the front steps of Smeltings School for Boys. At the last step below the landing of the grand entrance, he tripped and fell unceremoniously to the ground. Dudley picked himself up and looked around to see some of the crowd around him pointing and laughing at him. He looked at the ground in shame and walked inside the huge building.

Dudley went to the office of the Headmaster and registered himself for classes. He hated this school because even after completing four years at Smeltings, he still hadn't made any friends. He turned around to leave the office when he ran into the biggest pair of blue eyes he'd ever seen. He looked at the girl he had run into up and down to discover that she was beautiful. Her long hair resembled spun gold and her skin reminded him of fresh cream. Her full strawberry lips were turned up into a smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl smiled apologetically, "I am just running into everyone today!"

"Quite all right," Dudley said, "I am Dudley Dursley. What's your name?"

"Elisha Phlair. Nice to meet you," she said with a smile and held out her hand, which Dudley accepted.

"Thank you. I'm just registering for classes. I'm a fifth year student," Dudley explained.

"I'm a new transfer student, and I can't wait to begin," Elisha gushed, "I have a confession to make. I am a bit of a bookworm."

"Wait a minute," Dudley inquired, "Isn't Smeltings just for boys?"

"Oh, yes," Elisha laughed, "But I go to your sister school, Rosewood. It's a lot smaller than Smeltings, so all us girls come to Smeltings to register."

"That's news to me," Dudley mumbled.

"Smeltings and Rosewood became closely affiliated starting this year and we will even have some of the same classes together, I'm sure," Elisha explained.

Dudley was shocked to discover that he couldn't take his eyes off of this new girl. His mind went blissfully blank for a moment and he couldn't think straight.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Dudley asked thickly.

"I said I have to be going now, I need to go to my dorm and unpack all of my things," Elisha said.

Dudley noticed that she looked embarrassingly amused. Elisha had a twinkle in her eyes and a small grin on her lips.

"Oh, right," Dudley said and waved as Elisha walked away.

A few weeks later, Dudley Dursley still couldn't get the girl from registration out of his head. He dreamed about her and couldn't concentrate in the classes he had with her. It was odd, however. She hadn't spoken to him since the day they met and Dudley still hadn't made any friends this year. None of the boys at this school were intimidated by a huge bully like they were in elementary school. He'd tried whacking people with his Smeltings stick, but to no avail. Dudley was always being made fun of.

At mealtimes, he was always being jeered at with cruel remarks like "Hey, leave some for everyone else, you wanker!"

One day when he was sitting down to lunch by himself, Elisha came up and sat with him.

"Hi, Dudley," She smiled at him.

"Hi, yourself," Dudley grinned back as tucked into his roast beef sandwich.

Elisha gave a small smirk as she ate her sandwich. Dudley noticed that she had an apple, too.

"What's new? I haven't spoken to you since registration," Dudley inquired, trying to make his question seem as offhand as possible.

"Oh, I have just been busy trying to fit in at Rosewood. They're a rather tough crowd to… never mind," Elisha said with a faltering smile.

Dudley saw that she looked as if she'd said something terrible.

Dudley gave her a curious gaze, "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing, really. You know how hard it is to fit in at a new school," Elisha said with a cynical smirk.

"Yeah, trust me, I know," Dudley said bitterly.

Elisha had a sad look on her face.

"Dudley, I wanted to know if you'd like to go out with me sometime," Elisha asked suddenly.

Dudley was caught speechless for a moment. "Sorry?"

"Would you like to go out with me sometime?" the blonde girl repeated with a grin.

"Err, yes, of course I would," Dudley said in a shocked tone, "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely. You seem to be one of the few friendly faces here," Elisha explained, "All of the other boys here seem like royal horse's arses."

Dudley laughed as he tried to cover his surprise.

"Alight, Elisha. How does Friday night at eight sound?"

Elisha gave a weak smile and closed her eyes as if she was doing something horrible. "That sounds great."

"Ok, well I am going to take you to The Dining Room on Queen's Road. I hope you have a good appetite, you'll need it!" Dudley exclaimed, ignoring that look on her face.

Elisha laughed and nodded her approval. She then left for her next class.

Two weeks later, Dudley and Elisha's romance was the talk of the school. _How could a swine like Dudley snag a beautiful girl like that, _all of the other boys in school wondered. True, Dudley often wondered this himself, but he was too caught up in his romance to really care. He was in love and nobody could make him unhappy.

The two lovebirds went to fancy restaurants and to movies. They went on walks and they also went to amusement parks. They had wonderful times, but Dudley had the feeling something was very wrong with Elisha, as if she was hiding something. He'd occasionally ask her and mean to force her into an answer, but then she'd kiss him and change the subject.

He should have asked her more. He should have _choked_ it out of her…

One night, after a particularly romantic date, Dudley and Elisha found themselves back in his dormitory. His father was able to afford Dudley a private room, he had no roommates. They walked into his bedroom without noticing anything around them.

"Did you enjoy yourself tonight, love?" Dudley asked her as he gazed at her lovingly.

"Oh, Dudley this was a wonderful date," Elisha said with a dreamy grin.

Within seconds Dudley was kissing Elisha with fevered intensity and brought on hand up to her hip. He continued to deepen his kiss as she started to remove his pants. They had never had sex before and Dudley was still a virgin. Needless to say, he was anxious but eager too. Elisha had all of Dudley's clothes off when all of a sudden Dudley's closet door opened. Cameras were flashing all over the room, blinding Dudley.

"What the hell is this?" Dudley shrieked in terror.

Elisha was on the bed sobbing as a group of people in black hoods and clothes walked up to him and started pummelling his body with their fists. His first instinct was to protect her from these thugs, so he fought back the best he could. Just as he placed a solid kick into a thigh, Dudley screamed in pain as one of their fists hit him in the eye. Within seconds, the group had Dudley on his stomach hog-tied and gagged. He watched in horror as one of the figures walked up to Elisha and said these words that would be forever etched in his brain.

"Nice going Elisha," the airy voice of a girl spoke as she handed the sobbing Elisha a twenty pound note. "You're one of us now."

The look on Dudley's face was one of disbelief and horror as he came to one irrefutable conclusion. _She'd _set this up! _That disgusting blonde haired broken looking witch caused this_, he screamed inside his brain as he glared at her. He couldn't even have the satisfaction of pounding the living daylights out of something or screaming for help. He was totally defenceless and all he could do was let them take pictures of his naked body.

Once they took all of his money out of his overcoat and searched the room for more, they left. Dudley gazed at Elisha who was still crying softly beside him. He glared at her as she stood up.

"Oh Dudley, I am so sorry," Elisha choked as she began to untie him. "I had no choice!"

Dudley would have screamed at her, but he was still gagged. She began to work on his hands.

"They were blackmailing me. I told you they were a tough crowd here. They kept ostracizing me and I was desperate to fit in. Can you understand that?" Elisha asked beseechingly.

Now that she'd removed the gag, Dudley could talk. He gave Elisha a withering glower.

"I don't give a damn about your excuses, Elisha," Dudley bellowed as Elisha looked terrified. "I hate you now as much as I thought I loved you before, you conniving little slag! I want you to get the hell out of my room and I never want to see your horrid face again!

She stood up, grabbed her things and ran out of the room. Dudley collapsed on his bed and fell into oblivion.

------------------

"I immediately transferred away from Smeltings and I found out a month later that Elisha attempted to commit suicide," Dudley said bitterly. "Too bad she didn't succeed."

Harry Potter was rendered speechless by his cousin's story. He didn't know that his spoiled cousin had been through anything bad, much less something like this.

"Dudley, I…." Harry began.

"Harry, don't go feeling sorry for me," Dudley interrupted. "I won't have it. It's my fault for not being smarter."

"How is that your fault," Harry asked with conviction, "You had no way of knowing she'd do something like that!"

"I didn't read the signs and demand an answer when I knew I should have," Dudley asserted. "I was too self-absorbed to see what was right in front of me."

Harry nodded to indicate that he understood.

"So I have been studying and reading everything I could get my hands on to make myself smarter, more aware of the world," Dudley said with a strange glint in his eye. "I promised myself never to be so thick again."

"That's awful," Harry murmured to himself.

In spite of his cousin's wish, Harry did feel desperately sorry for him. _What a horrible thing to happen, even to Dudley_, he thought to himself. Harry reckoned it might have been a good thing in one respect because his cousin wasn't so sheltered now and knew how ugly things could be.

As if he could read his thoughts, Dudley glared at Harry.

"You're doing it," Dudley growled. "I can see it in your face."

"I'm sorry," Harry said sarcastically as he glared back at his cousin.

Suddenly, they both burst out laughing. They began to really talk about their lives and everything that Harry had went through. They actually began to like each other now that Dudley was more humble and Harry didn't hate him. Dudley turned out to be more intelligent than Harry ever knew and Dudley found himself enthralled with Harry's magical world.

Harry went back into his room hours after he left it. They had parted with a promise that Harry would bring Dudley to see Diagon Alley when the war was over. Obviously it was too unsafe to bring Muggles there now. He felt much more light-hearted now that he and his only cousin were friends. _Could I actually have a decent relationship with my family?_ Harry asked himself as he began reading Quidditch Though the Ages once again.

**Well, I hope you enjoyed that! Stay tuned for Chapter 3 - The Burrow, Again**


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